THE AMES TRIBUNE, Ames, Story County, Iowa, Tuesday, December 6, 2005.

"Laurie" A. Bratten, 24, of Ottumwa died Friday, Dec. 2, as a result of a car accident on Interstate 80 near the Victor exit.

She was born Oct. 18, 1981, in Ottumwa to Robert P. and Deborah J. White Bratten.

A graduate of Ottumwa High School in 2000, she was a three-time all-state swimmer and two-time state champion in the 100-yard backstroke. She was a member of the National Honor Society, past president of Tres Trams, past president of her United Methodist Youth Fellowship youth group, a Meister singer and a member of Teen Leaders in Action.

A graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in business marketing, she worked in Florida one year and had returned to ISU to pursue a teaching career. She was presently a swim coach for Ames Aquatic Club.

She was a member of Willard Street United Methodist Church.

She is survived by her parents, Bob and Deb of Ottumwa; two brothers, Bob Bratten of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Jeff Bratten of Missouri State University; one sister, Shelly Lefebure of Cedar Rapids; her fiancÚ, Randy Wilharber of Davenport; and her grandfather, Ralph White of Ft. Myers, Fla.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Maxine White and Lucille and Elmer Bratten.

Funeral services were this morning at Willard Street United Methodist Church in Ottumwa with the Rev. Stephanie Raphael-Nakos officiating. Burial will be in Memorial Lawn Cemetery in Ottumwa.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Willard Street United Methodist Church or the Woodward Resource Center, a housing and school facility for special needs children.